The Loomis Chaffee School was chartered in 1874 by the five children of Colonel James Loomis and Abigail Sherwood Chaffee who had lost all of their own children and selflessly determined to found a school as a gift to the children of others. Since its opening in 1914, the school has offered educational opportunities for boys and girls regardless of religious or political beliefs, national origin or financial resources. Academically rigorous, the school promotes active learning and close faculty-student bonds within a respectful and civil community.

The mineral collection of the the Loomis Chaffee School included several collections that had been obtained from notable Hartford-area collectors. The school also acquired the collection of the Wadsworth Atheneaum, including the collection of James B. Cone (q.v.). It numbered about 5,000 specimens, mostly cabinet-size. Over the years, many mineral dealers including Ron Bentley, Phil Scalisi, David Crawford and Bill Metropolis, made exchanges with the school. In 2009 the school approached New York mineral dealer John Betts to handle the sale of the collection. Betts orchestrated the purchase of most of the collection by Richard Hauck on behalf of the Sterling Hill Mining Museum in Ogdensburg, New Jersey, and was then allowed by Hauck to purchase about 20 flats of specimens for himself (he later resold all but four thrugh his website). A significant portion of the collection was acquired by a notable New Jersey collector.